


Interdisciplinary Studies

by maybeaslytherin



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-19 07:34:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29747133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maybeaslytherin/pseuds/maybeaslytherin
Summary: Wildlife biologist Jaime Lannister finds himself stuck when the bears he has been studying start dying unexpectedly. He enlists the help of microbiologist Brienne Tarth to try and make sense of his findings. Though the two are reluctant to work together, their combined skill sets lead them to startling discoveries- both in their research and outside of it.
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 8
Kudos: 36





	Interdisciplinary Studies

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I hope you enjoy this story! Again, this is another story I started a while ago but I liked it enough that I decided I would like to continue it! I'd like to keep a regular schedule with this- a new chapter either every week or every other week- when I post chapter 2 I will have that schedule more figured out.

Brienne walked into the lab, her earbuds already in, wanting to get some work done before her new coworker arrived. When Dr. Baratheon, the head of the Microbiology Department, had first mentioned the new project to Brienne, she was weary. Not because of the person she would be working with, she hadn’t known of him at that point, but because someone else would be intruding in her lab space, her space.

Earlier in the week, she had emailed her new coworker, Jaime Lannister. He was an animal behaviorist and pathologist who worked in another department. She read back over the email exchange at the computer once more, confirming the time he was supposed to be arriving this morning: 

Dr. Lannister, 

My name is Dr. Brienne Tarth, and I wanted to connect with you before we began our project together this coming Thursday. Dr. Baratheon said that you have been having issues with the death rates of brown bears on the wildlife reserve and wanted to consult the microbiology department to determine if there is a molecular cause. If you can, please bring a sample with you from one of the bear’s digestive tracts; I’d like to see if this is perhaps diet related. Dr. Baratheon mentioned that you have been doing autopsies for the last few months. I’d be very interested in reading those over as well, if you wouldn’t mind bringing them along. I look forward to meeting you on Thursday, the 7th at 9 am. 

Best,   
Dr. Brienne Tarth  
Microbiologist at the Westeros Institute. 

To her dismay, the reply she received was outrageously informal and unhelpful; 

Sounds good, will do. 

-Jaime

Brienne rolled her eyes, uneasy with anticipation at meeting Dr. Lannister. To keep busy, she set to cleaning her workspace. Her lab was neat, as she always kept it, though there were always things that needed done; dishes to be washed and autoclaved, samples to be checked. Putting on a new playlist, she set about to cleaning the empty erlenmeyer flasks in the sink. 

Once they were on the drying rack, she decided to make a basic media, in the case that Dr. Lannister brought the samples she asked him to and they were able to culture them. While she prepared it, she hummed along to the music. Between that and making the media, she was so focused that she hadn’t realized someone else was in the room until she felt the tap on her shoulder. 

Brienne instantly removed her earbuds and turned around to see a man laughing lightly at her. She couldn’t help but note how attractive his smile was, though she disdained him for catching her off guard. 

“May I help you?” She asked. It was only 8:30 and she hoped that this didn’t turn out to be Dr. Lannister. 

“Can you find your supervisor? I’m supposed to be meeting Brienne Tarth here.” He looked at the pile of petri dishes in front of her and smirked, “she keeps her lab assistants pretty busy, huh?” 

Before Brienne could even answer, Dr. Baratheon walked into the lab. 

“Ah, Jaime! I thought I saw you walk by. I see you two are getting to know each other.” He said, smiling warmly. 

Jaime’s eyes widened and it was Brienne’s turn to smirk at him. “My apologies, Brienne,” Jaime started, having the decency to look slightly embarrassed, though laughter still remained in his eyes, “I didn’t realize that that was you. Usually my lab assistants are the ones cleaning the lab and getting it prepped for experiments.” 

“How kind of them,” Brienne said flatly. She turned away from Lannister, “Dr. Baratheon, will you be joining us this morning?”

“No,” he said, looking between the two as if sensing the hostility between them, “I just wanted to make sure you were introduced.” He cleared his throat in the awkward silence that answered, “I guess I’ll leave you to it.” 

As he walked out, Jaime asked curiously, “You call him Dr. Baratheon?” 

“Yes, why does that matter?” Brienne was already growing irritated. 

“Just, if you are in fact a doctor, then you are colleagues, are you not? Why don’t you call him Renly?” 

“If I am a doctor? Just what are you implying?” Brienne asked harshly. 

Jaime could tell he was getting under her skin and Brienne could tell he was enjoying it. He leaned on the desk between them. She could see the missing button on the collar of his shirt that peaked out from under his sweater. 

Jaime shrugged, “You just seem a bit young. That’s why I thought you were a lab assistant.” 

Brienne didn’t care to explain herself to him, but she was insulted. “This may be my first year here as a doctor of microbiology but I assure you I am fully qualified. As qualified as you are in your specialty, Dr. Lannister.” She continued, “And I’ll have you know that I address Dr. Baratheon as such because he was my mentor here before I earned my degree and I prefer to continue to address him with the respect he deserves.” 

Jaime was quiet for a moment, nodding. But the smirk broke out on his face again, “And you address me as Dr. Lannister. Should I be grateful that you think I deserve such a respect?” 

Brienne’s eyes narrowed, “It’s more that I’d rather keep things professional between us, Dr. Lannister. I don’t see us becoming acquaintances in the near future.” Brienne walked around the lab table to discard the gloves she was still wearing, but Jaime stepped in front of her, stopping her mere inches in front of him. 

“What a shame, because I thought we were getting along so well,” Jaime’s voice was thick with sarcasm. But it wasn’t malicious. In fact, it seemed to break the tension that had been building between them. Jaime laughed, lightly this time, and stepped aside so that Brienne could get through. 

She sighed in relief. As she threw away her gloves and replaced them with new ones, she took a moment to compose herself. Then, she turned around and met Jaime’s eyes. “Alright, would you like to tell me what we’re working with?” 

Jaime pulled the backpack off of his back and took out the small, tightly sealed box from an ice bag. “Here are the samples you requested. It seems that whatever disease or pathogen the bear came into contact with spread quite quickly; it was healthy one day and dead the next. There doesn’t seem to be anything suspicious from the autopsy. I can’t find any preliminary cause, but it has to be something external; bears don’t just drop dead. I don’t think you’ll find anything, though, since no one else has been able to. I didn’t really want to waste your time or mine, but, you know, protocol.” 

“I do appreciate the insinuation that I’ll be a complete waste of time,” Brienne countered bitterly, inspecting the samples, “But, perhaps let me do my job before making such judgements?” 

Jaime put his hands up, as if to show his concession to let her work.

“Thank you,” she said tersely, and began to spread the samples out onto the plates she had prepared. She explained to him, “I’m just going to grow these overnight. Hopefully we’ll see some growth of the microflora from the bear’s gut and we’ll be able to sequence the DNA of the colonies from there to determine if there is anything suspicious.” 

“Sounds like a plan,” Jaime said, unenthused. 

“You sound so concerned. Don’t animal behaviorists usually care about the animals they’re studying?” 

“Usually,” Jaime agreed. “I didn’t really want this project, to be honest. My specialty is mountain lions, but because this issue is becoming more pronounced, they reassigned me for the time being.” 

“I see,” Brienne said. “Well, at least we both don’t want to be here.” At his laugh, her lips twitched upwards in a smile.

While she plated the samples, Jaime watched her hands. While they were rather large and strong, they moved with such fluidity, streaking the plates, spreading the sample. When he noticed himself staring, he shook his head, and forced himself to make small talk. “So, how long has Renly been your mentor?” 

“About 4 years, though I’ve known him since I got my Bachelor’s degree. I began working here, as a lab assistant, mind you,” he could almost hear her roll her eyes, “and he went out of his way to teach me as much as he could. No one saw potential in me the way he did. When I started working towards my PhD, he continued formally as my mentor.” 

“You sound quite fond of him,” Jaime remarked, “Perhaps respect isn’t the only reason you call him Dr. Baratheon; perhaps you need the reminder, to bury any… improper feelings?” 

Brienne’s voice was cutting, “Oh, yes, you’ve figured me out, haven’t you! I can’t bear to see Dr. Baratheon happy with his husband instead of me and I just-“ Brienne turned around to see Jaime quietly laughing. He was only joking, just riling her up again. 

“You really are quite easy to read and provoke, you know? Almost easier to pick apart than that bear was.” 

“Lovely of you to compare me to the bear you just dissected,” Brienne snapped back. She couldn’t decide if he was intending to be irritating or playful with his banter. She didn’t necessarily want to find out. 

She plated the last sample and looked at Jaime, “Well, that’s that. I don’t suppose you have any interest in having me look over anything else?” She looked at hime, expecting him to be eager to leave her and her department. 

“Here,” he said, handing over a binder. “It’s my report so far, as well as other similar cases in the past month. Look it over and let me know if you have any input. While I don’t exactly understand why you would choose to look at this from a perspective you can’t even see with the naked eye, I suppose there’s a reason a microbiological analysis is part of the protocol. Let me know if you have any input?” 

Brienne nodded, surprised. “If you’d like to come back tomorrow and look over the cultures with me, we can maybe determine if there’s anything worth sequencing.” 

“Sure,” Jaime grinned, “I’ll be back tomorrow, then, Brienne,” he emphasized her first name, as he turned to leave. 

She smirked, “See you around, lion boy,” she laughed as he did a double take, looking shocked. “Informal enough for you?” While she was loathe to admit it, she could imagine that working with Jaime Lannister could be quite fun. Well, irritating, but fun.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if you like this story and would be interested in reading more of it! I will try not to make it too science heavy, but my degree is in biochemistry so I can't really make any promises haha.


End file.
